I Remember You
by FrankandJoe3
Summary: Dick's used to wearing a mask all of his life, but this time, he doesn't know if he can hold it up. Set during Performance, a song fic to I Remember You from Adventure Time.
1. Chapter 1

**Ever since the song "I Remember You", sung by Marceline and the Ice King on Adventure Time, hit my ears, I've been in love with it! I've wanted to do something for it for **_**so **_**long, and I was pacing the driveway waiting for my little brother to get home and freezing my nuts off, I realized that it was right there in front of me! The relationship between Jack and Dick would be almost just like Simon and Marcy, with a more… circus-like approach. I guess. So um. Yeah.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song, or the show, no matter how much I wish I did. This is set during Performance, so it may be a little out-of-character.**

* * *

"Robin, you know my rule on being too personally attached too a mission… if you can't handle this, I can assign Aqualad or Kid Flash in your place," Batman reminded the ebony who was fitting himself into the white and red leotard with a pained expression playing as discretely as he could manage it beneath his features.

Dick raised his blue eyes and briefly glared at his mentor before he ducked his face to slide his jeans up over his hips, wiggling in place as he did so to ease the journey.

"Don't even think of booting me off the case, Batman," he warned, poking his tongue between his lips as he fumbled with the button to secure the jeans in place. "Jack and the circus were my family, minus the blood to prove it, and I'd be betraying them if I _didn't _help."

He admired how they clung to his waist before reaching back into the pile of discarded clothes and tugging a shirt over his head gently.

"Besides, I'm the only member of the team with enough experience to make their cover story even mildly believable. You don't see any of them with a big top background, do you?" he shot a taunting glance towards his mentor, tugging the hem of his shirt down over the denim, tugging the straps of his leotard to try and make them less noticeable against the pale color of his shirt.

The face behind the cowl didn't seem any more convinced though, actually more disapproving in the down-turned lips beneath the blackened tips.

"It's your 'big top background' that endangers you," the Dark Knight reminded his ward, "Your opinion will immediately become biased and when the time comes, you'll jeopardize the entire mission just to save face."

The ebony continued looking into the mirror, adjusting and pulling until he felt like he looked normal enough clothes-wise, eyes turning to his hair before they darted behind him in the reflection towards his mentor.

"I wouldn't risk the mission just to save face. Not much face to save anyway, most of it's covered in an iconic mask that every sidekick and his uncle wears," Dick dipped his fingers into the gel on the dresser, combing his hair back off his forehead until a good six inches of hair was spiked up on his head.

He poked his tongue between his lips before combing it back down and slanting his bangs over his forehead in a scene style, tilting his chin up and making a depressed face of sorts before laughing at himself. His bangs were flattened again with a press of his palm, a shiver coming from the slime of the gel as he wiped it off.

"Jack won't remember… last he saw me, I was brown and nine… nearly shaved head compared to now," he muttered to himself, picking up a towel from the floor and draining his hair before combing it with his fingers again.

"Would you be able to put away the man who served as your father most of your life? Can you look him in the eyes, knowing who he is to you, and arrest him for the crimes he's done?" Batman accused, his face rid of all emotion except that same haunting disapproval that always seemed to be there on the brim of his expression.

Dick flinched, looking up through those same three parts in his hair, turning around this time with an expression full of pain and anger all at the same time.

"Of the crimes he's accused, you mean!" he firmly corrected, teeth gritted and fists trembling.

The disapproval was quickly coated in a smug accent, one that only flashed the teen's back to his elder, the anger still boiling hot beneath the surface with the steam silently blowing out.

"Jack Haley is family, Batman. You know that more than anyone. I know I can't be exactly fair on this, but I _know _Jack and I _know _he couldn't do anything that would hurt his chances with the circus. He told me it was the child he never had… that we were all his grandkids… right before they died. He's all I have left of them, all I've got for a family besides you and Alfred, and the old man's definitely living out his title. I'm going to lose you all some day… and I…"

The ebony's lips fell shut when a gentle hand touched to his shoulder, looking up into the dark eyes of Bruce Wayne, the cowl having been pushed back just a little to show the true expression and not the half-sided emotion that had to be estimated.

"I know, Robin. I just… worry… for… you… Try and be careful, alright? Lead the team, keep a steady head… stay…" he paused, eyes searching the surprised blue ones for the right word.

"Whelmed?" Dick offered quietly, a modest smile playing over his lips.

Bruce echoed it, returning his hand to side and his cowl back down over the muscles of his face, puffing out his cheeks and moving his features until it fit properly into the folds.

"Stay whelmed," he nodded briefly before turning on heel and exiting the room, a grinning acrobat left behind him, trembling happily in place.

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**There's a part two with the actual song, don't worry. I just can't stand when a story is over five pages and this is already three, so I decided to work it into two chapters. This is like a little background I guess, something adorable. I'm being self-centered and cocky there. This probably was pretty stupid and out-of-character. Sorry about that… Review if you'd like.**

**-F.J. III**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, here's the official part with the song! I know I spell Haley with an e. I know they didn't do that in Young Justice. It's just how I spell it and I'm sorry if it bothers you. It's like how I spell wolfe. I have to add an e to the end, but no one else seems to. We're all a bit peculiar, yes? Anyway, here's to **_**I Remember You**_**. There is another song here, in the beginning, called **_**Nuts **_**which I include with **_**I Remember You, **_**but most people would not agree with me. **

**Disclaimer: Out-of-character Young Justice-owned characters and a song that is not mine will be featured here.**

* * *

_You're so annoying, you pitiful old man_. _I'd like to help you, but I don't know if I can. _

Fitting the scarlet and albino mask over the bridge of his nose, adjusting the edges over the brilliance of his blue eyes, Dick nodded goodbye to the team who just now had their outfits on arm with expressions of pure excitement being the last thing he saw of them before he went on his way. On his way with gentle footfall in those special made shoes designed to grip the platform when chalked bare feet weren't classy enough for the show's purpose.

Walking through the moving train cars as they coasted idly along the coast, a steady and calm pace that made it easy to get car-to-car, kept the ebony busy until he came face-to-face with the door that had always been open to him for all those lunches and dinners spent when his parents were out and about at the stops. He had never seen it closed… it hurt, to say the least.

He bit his lip softly before he raised his fist to knock, brisk and quick out of the shyness he had to put on because he was supposed to be facing a stranger today. Jack Haley wasn't _his _ringmaster anymore; Jack Haley was the leader of Haley's International Traveling Circus, a man to be admired for his reputation and not his behavior. This wasn't his family behind the door; it wasn't his friend opening the door to face him; no, it was Jack Haley, a man who he had never been this close to.

"Hello, can I help you?" the voice was as gruff as it had been all those years ago, the ruin that those years of smoking caused, giving the deep voice that specific accent that made it unique.

The ebony had to avoid looking into those sky-colored eyes to keep from latching onto the mildly portly man in one of the most overdue hugs he had ever set aside, instead studying the smile lines chiseled long ago into the tan towering face high above his own height.

"My name is Dan Danger, you signed on our act to perform in the upcoming show?" he quietly introduced himself, pulling a Batman and deepening his voice just a little even though he knew he had no need to.

The ashen-haired man paused, head cocked to the side before he remembered with a small smile and a nod, stepping back and offering out his arm to usher the thirteen year old inside.

"Oh yes, of course, child. Come in!" he assured, grinning sheepishly as he gestured towards the chair near the back of the room. "I'm sorry it's a mess. I wasn't expecting company until we stopped."

Tears welled in the little acrobat's eyes, but he hid them and remained standing by the door, rubbing his elbow gently, his shoulder blades split by the corner of the wall and the door.

"I-… I just… wanted to stop by and say how gracious my family and I are that you accepted our act on such short notice," he trembled excitedly, almost unable to keep from laughing in awe with the grin that stretched over his cheeks.

Jack waded through the piles of paperwork, looking up with a surprised smile, chuckling warmly.

"Yes, it was quite _fortunate _that you happened to be seeking management," his tone caught Dick off guard, freezing him in place and causing him to adjust his mask, making sure it was still secured.

"What do you mean?" the ebony stuttered nervously, tracing his middle finger back with his thumb between the middle and top knuckle.

_I thought you were nuts, but you're really, really nuts_

The man waited until he had squeezed through the clutter and situated himself behind his desk, his tongue poking between his lips as he rotated the ringleader's hat that was the centerpiece to the mess. One rotation. Two rotations. Three. Seven. He just kept spinning it, seeming to have forgotten that the bird was still there.

"I-I'm a big fan of your circus, Mr. Haley," Dick shakily made himself known again, tensing at the jump the man gave at his voice, earning him a grin as it eased.

"Is that so, Dick?" the man probed a bit, the fade to his eyes shying off when he glanced up at the thirteen year old.

The little ebony's heart stopped in his chest, his stomach taking a 9mm and pressing it to his temple, pulling the trigger without much of a warning, causing him to rely solely on the wall to stand up.

"I'm not-," he started, cheeks turning red when Jack seemed to catch himself.

"Oh, sorry, _Dan_. You remind me of a boy who used to fly with us a long time ago. Looked quite a bit like you, actually… Never mind that, as you were saying?"

Dick released the breath he hadn't been aware of catching, swallowing the knot in his throat down, still shaking just a little bit, "O-Oh… um, I… I've been a big fan of your circus since I was a little kid. The Incredible Soraceans, the Fantastic Phillips, the Graceful Johnsons, the Flying Graysons…"

Jack chuckled warmly, raising his elbows up from the desk and carefully interlacing his fingers and resting his indexes against his chin, smiling nostalgically.

"Yes, the… the Graysons were my best act, even to now. Losing them… took out a chunk of my passion for this game, you could say. Were you there when it happened?"

The smile that unhappily rested over the ebony's lips was mere ironic before he pocketed it for later use, nodding solemnly with a small cough to unsettle the knot in his throat.

"Uh yeah… I had a… front row view of it actually... I'm sorry for your loss, sir."

* * *

_Grayson, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world?_

Jack rested his hand to the young acrobat's shoulder, his eyebrows furrowing before he dropped his hand and met those dark eyes that had always managed to stick with him similar to his own shadow that was now strewn out against the back wall of his office, a different kind of smile to his lips now. It was a strong one, broader than his shoulders, stuffed to the brim with that of the utmost respect. He was practically bowing down with his eyes.

"How'd you do it, kid?" he asked quietly, "After they died? I was tempted to shut the tents down for good before you said anything… it wrecked me pretty good up in the ole' noggin…"

Dick slumped his shoulders and released a weak and faltering breath, combing a hand through his dark locks with the forced half-smile he had pulled from his pocket again.

"I…" he paused, glancing up at the ceiling for a second, "I guess I really didn't… _do it_. In the back of my head, I've been… I've always been telling myself that it didn't happen. I've never said that they… _died_… I always say that I _lost_ my parents. It helps me cope a little bit, somehow… but there are still those nights someone will just say... _one __word_... and I'll remember them and just... break down... I can't describe what it feels like to have lost them... besides... it _hurts_... b-but you probably figured that one out on your own."

_It must be so confusing for a little bird_

Jack's expression softened and he opened his arms, smiling as Dick stepped forward and did what he had been waiting nearly five years to do, his throat giving a little white flag of retreat in the form of a choked sob, his trembling fingers entangling in the scarlet circus jacket, his chest racking hard against the hefty stomach. All those years of hiding the pain behind a mask in public crumbled right there in the man's arms, two broken hearts crashing to the floor without a Time Lord in sight.

"I miss it!" the ebony practically screamed, his voice muffled by the man he had once considered to be his grandfather, "It's not fair! I want to come back! I didn't do anything wrong!"

_And I know you're going to need me here with you _

Jack felt his own eyes well with tears and he clutched the delicate little frame close, hushing him quietly under his breath, looking down at him with a look of pain to his aged features.

"I know you didn't… life… life just has this plan for us and we can either let it put its markers and coordinates all over us, or we can fight it and make a new plan for ourselves. You don't have to let their dea-… their disappearances faze you. You can amount to _so _much, Dick! I've been babysitting you since the train had to stop down in Massachusetts for your mom to have you in a hospital. You went from not even being able to walk to learning to _soar_. Don't let an empty nest stop you from flying."

The ebony pulled back, the tears hot on his cheeks, quickly brushing them off with his hands, giving a quiet sniffle and a nod despite the bottom lip that still strongly trembled.

"B.. but Jack… the circus was all I had…" he whispered.

The silver haired man wasn't going to hear it, standing firmly and flipping his hat from his own head to the little acrobat's, adjusting it with a small smile and a pat to the top.

"And who says you still don't have it, Dicky bird?" he lifted his baton, holding it in both hands tightly, "You may be the last one left in your act, but you hold all the talent they had in those fingertips of yours once you get up there. You're always going to be a Flying Grayson to me, and that should never stop you from doing what you love. The circus always holds its flaps open for you."

Dick's face lit up as if the roof of the car had just been ripped off and the unbridled sunlight was shining a direct light straight onto that ear-to-ear grin betwixt the tear tracks.

"Thanks, Jack," he managed to choke out, pushing the hat back just enough that the bright little gleam in the corner of his eyes was showing, a little laugh to the edge of his voice.

"In fact, how 'bout you do an old ringleader a favor?"

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**Short, I know, but… ugh. I wish I could've made this a lot better. I'm actually pretty upset about this one. I want to post something though… There had to be something in here to balance out the crap… Review if you want?**

**-F.J. III**


End file.
